Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It all belongs to LFL.
AN: Here's chapter 6! Thanks for all the great reviews everyone!
Never Gone
Chapter 6: The Homestead
Padme's Nubian cruiser rocketed through the Tatooine atmosphere. Anakin eased up on the throttle and flew the ship to his family's moisture farm. He dropped the landing gear and set her down smoothly on the firm sand. Anakin lowered the ramp and followed Artoo down. Padme and Obi-Wan followed him, as they approached Anakin's home.
Threepio trailed behind with Artoo. It wasn't long before the two droids were bickering.
"Mom!" Anakin called, as he entered the house.
"Ani!" Shmi called, as she shuffled out of the kitchen to greet him.
"Ani, you're home sooner than expected," she said, as she kissed his cheek. He grinned when Shmi saw their company.
"Padme!" Shmi exclaimed, as she hugged her.
"It's good to see you Mrs. Lars," Padme said.
"Oh please, call me Shmi, honey. It's good to see you too and you're as beautiful as ever darling," Shmi said, making Padme blush a little.
"And who is this?" Shmi asked.
"This is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's been assigned as my Jedi protection," Padme replied. Concern washed over Shmi's face.
"Protection?" Shmi asked.
"It's a long story," Padme replied.
"Well, you can tell us all about it at dinner," Shmi said, as she turned back to the kitchen.
"Can I help you?" Padme asked.
"Sure honey," Shmi replied, as they left Obi-Wan and Anakin to their own devices. Not much later, everyone gathered for dinner where introductions were in order.
"Well, you must be Padme. Anakin has told us much about you. It's good to finally meet you," Cliegg greeted.
"Thank you, it's wonderful to meet you as well Mr. Lars," she replied.
"Call me Cliegg. This is my son Owen and his girlfriend Beru," Cliegg pointed to the young couple beside him.
"It's nice to meet you. Ani never shuts up about you, so it good to finally put a face to the name," Owen mentioned, taking the full opportunity to tease Anakin. Anakin rolled his eyes and ignored Owen's jab.
"It's good to meet you too and you also Beru," Padme replied. Padme introduced Obi-Wan, as they sat down to eat. Once everyone was mostly done eating, they sat back and waited for Padme and Anakin to tell the story.
"So Padme, why do you need Jedi protection?" Shmi asked. Padme sighed.
"Well, for about a year now, I've been working against the military creation act in the Senate. It's a bill that the Senate wants to pass in order to create an army of the Republic to deal with the increasing number of systems that want to leave. About ten days ago, I was due to return to Coruscant for the decision on the bill, but as I was leaving Naboo, we received some threats on my life. I needed to go anyway, so we arranged for my handmaiden Corde to act as my decoy, while I flew in one of the escort ships. On the landing platform, there was an explosion on my main ship," Padme paused for a minute and Anakin laid his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She smiled at him, before she continued.
"Corde was killed in the blast. That is when Chancellor Palpatine suggested that I be given Jedi protection. The second attempt of my life was on Coruscant again. Master Obi-Wan thwarted the assassin, but unfortunately, she got away. The chancellor then ordered that I return to Naboo with Knight Urkin for my own safety. I had just arrived on Naboo that morning when Ani arrived. We went to the lake country and that's where the third assassination attempt happened. Anakin saved me from that one and caught the assassin," Padme beamed proudly.
"Oh, my brave boy," Shmi said, as she ruffled his hair.
"Mom..." Anakin whined.
"Knight Urkin was sent back to Coruscant and Master Kenobi was sent as his replacement. Anakin suggested that I would be safe on Tatoonie, so here we are," Padme explained, as she looked at Anakin. He smiled back brightly.
"What's going on you two?" Shmi asked playfully.
"We have something else to tell you," Anakin said, as he took Padme's hand in his.
"We're getting married," Anakin announced. Shmi gasped and was immediately out of her seat and hugging her son and Padme.
"Oh, this is so wonderful," Shmi said, as she looked at them both.
"My mom and sister want you to help plan it. Would you be able to come to Naboo or Coruscant with us. I'm afraid once this whole mess with assassinations are over, I won't have much time to take off work right away. We plan on getting married on Naboo, but mom and Sola will probably come to Coruscant to help me plan it. But I would really like you to help too Shmi," Padme said.
"She wouldn't miss it for the world," Cliegg said.
"Are you sure Cliegg?" she asked.
"Of course darling, you've worked all your life. You're going to enjoy planning Anakin's wedding," Cliegg said. Shmi smiled and hugged him.
"A few days before the wedding, I can come get the three of you and take you to Naboo," Anakin said.
"We want to make it in one piece Anakin," Owen joked.
"Haha," Anakin replied, as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, since the day Ani met you Padme, I knew you would become my daughter someday," Shmi said, as she hugged Padme.
"And now, I won't have to wait on Owen for grandchildren, because goodness knows, he's certainly wasting time. He should have proposed to Beru ages ago," Shmi said. Owen turned red with embarrassment.
"MOM!" he whined, while Anakin laughed at his expense. Owen playfully shoved him and Anakin shoved back.
"Outside with the roughhousing boys," Shmi ordered.
After dinner, Shmi, Owen and Beru continued to talk, so Anakin decided to show Obi-Wan around his shop.
Anakin listened avidly to Obi-Wan stories of missions that he had been on, while he tinkered with a broken vaporator.
"Anakin, I want to apologize to you. I wasn't very nice to you all those years ago," Obi-Wan said.
"Don't worry about it. It was probably for the best. I probably would have felt suffocated by your Jedi code. It definitely wouldn't have allowed me to marry Padme or see my mom and that just wouldn't have worked for me," Anakin admitted.
"Well, I'm glad there are no hard feelings," Obi-Wan replied.
"There you are," Padme said, as she came in the shop.
"Cliegg and Owen are shutting down the power, so we should all get inside," Padme said, as she came over to Anakin.
"I'll see you two inside," Obi-Wan said, as he left them. Padme leaned up and kissed him softly. Anakin pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss.
"Did you have fun talking with my mom and Beru?" he asked.
"I did. I love them both already, just like I knew I would. And your mom told me some very interesting stories about you," Padme said playfully.
"Oh great," Anakin replied in disdain. They walked out of the garage and into the cool night air. The twin suns had set and the moon showed brightly now. The stars illuminated the sky, unobstructed by any clouds.
"Oh wow, what a view. I always miss looking at the stars when I'm on Coruscant. You can't see them hardly and I never seem to get enough time to just look at the stars on Naboo," Padme said.
"Well, I think we should start a tradition then. I'll go get a blanket from mom. It gets a little cold after the suns set, so I'll grab our cloak," Anakin said.
"Or you could just keep me warm," Padme replied slyly. He smiled roguishly.
"Yeah, I can do that," he replied, as he turned to go get a blanket. He came back out and spread the blanket out. Anakin laid down on his back and motioned for Padme to come. She did so, eagerly cuddling close to him, and resting her head on his chest.
"Where's Naboo?" she asked. Anakin studied the stars for a moment and then pointed at the bright star off to the west.
"That one right there. And that one over there is Dantooine and that one is Corellia," Anakin said, as he pointed at two bright stars south and east of them.
"I used to come out here with mom all the time when we first moved here with Cliegg. Master Qui-Gon gave me his star chart the first time he took me to the temple as a gift," Anakin recalled fondly.
"I'd spend hours studying the sky until mom would drag me inside and make me go to bed," Anakin chuckled at the memory.
"Anakin, are you sure you're okay with me continuing my career?" Padme asked.
"Of course angel, if that's what you want. Besides, this galaxy needs good people like you," Anakin replied.
"You won't mind going back and forth between Coruscant, Naboo, and Tatooine?" she asked. He chuckled and shifted his body so that they were facing each other.
"Angel, if I spend the rest of my life following you around the stars, I'll die a happy man," he gave her that half smile that she loved. Padme wanted to melt at that moment, as his sapphire eyes gazed lovingly at her.
"Oh Ani, I love you so much," she said.
"I love you too angel," Anakin replied, as he kissed her hungrily. Padme pressed her body against his, as she surrendered in his strong embrace. Anakin moved his lips passionately over hers. Eventually the temperature dropped considerably and the two young lovers went inside for the night...
Jedi Master Mace Windu landed outside what seemed to be air vents of some kind. Steam billowed heavily from the vents, indicating that a factory of some kind existed here. And Mace had a good idea of what they were producing. He flipped on the transmitting beacon switch on so that the temple would be able to locate him if they needed to. Cautiously, he then made his way inside the structure. He knew danger awaited him inside the fortress, but confident Jedi master believed it was nothing he could not handle...
The next morning, Anakin trudged sleeping into the kitchen, desperately in need of his morning caf. Padme was already up helping his mother with breakfast, as Beru had gone home last night.
"Good morning handsome," she said, as she greeted him with a soft kiss.
"Morning," he replied, with a yawn. She giggled and handed him a fresh cup of caf.
"Thanks babe," he replied, as he sipped carefully at the hot liquid. He sat down at the table with Owen, Cliegg and Obi-Wan.
"Were you able to fix that evaporator?" Cliegg asked.
"I should be able to, but I need to go see if Watto has the part I need today," Anakin replied. Cliegg chuckled.
"Well, I have yet to see the day where there's something that you can't fix," Cliegg said. Anakin smiled at the compliment, as he popped a piece of fruit in his mouth.
"Padme, this Shuura fruit you brought us is wonderful," Shmi said, as she took a bite.
"Thanks, it's my favorite too. Whenever I leave Naboo, I always be sure to pack plenty in my ship's cooler," Padme replied. Anakin finished his breakfast quickly and stoop up.
"I should start out for Mos Espa before it's too late in the day," Anakin said.
"I'll come with you," Padme replied. He smiled apologetically.
"Sorry angel, but Mos Espa is way too dangerous for you," Anakin replied.
"Please Ani? I'll stay close to you and I'll keep the hood up on my cloak," Padme pleaded, her chocolate eyes pleading with him.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Anakin. It would be much too dangerous," Obi-Wan replied.
"Well, I'm sure I would be perfectly safe with Ani. But you can come with us," Padme said, as she ended the conversation and went to change. Cliegg chuckled.
"You're going to have your hands full with that one, Anakin," Cliegg chuckled.
"Yeah, she's already got you whipped," Owen joked. Anakin rolled his eyes.
"Like you're one to talk Owen. If Beru told you to jump, you'd ask her how high," Anakin shot back. Cliegg and Obi-Wan enjoyed a laugh at the boys' expense.
Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan climbed into the speeder.
"You know Senator, I don't feel this is a very good idea," Obi-Wan said.
"It'll be fine Obi-Wan. And I told you to call me Padme," she replied. Obi-Wan looked pointedly at Anakin.
"Don't look at me. I gave up trying to argue with her," he replied, as he started the engines. Anakin pressed down on the throttle and Obi-Wan felt his stomach lurch, as Anakin took them to hair raising speeds. He had a really bad feeling about this...